The surprise winners and losers of this boxing match of a debate

Liston-Ali. Tyson-Holyfield. De la Hoya-Mayweather. Las Vegas can rightly lay claim to its “Fight Town” appellation. But the big question before tonight’s main event on The Strip was exactly who among the seven contenders would actually be mixing it up in the center of the ring. (It’s normally eight, but Jon Huntsman said “no mas” for tonight.)

Would it be the upstart challenger, Herman “The Herminator” Cain, coming off a couple of good outings and attempting to prove he could go toe-to-toe with the current champ, Mitt “The Mormonator” Romney? Or would it be Rick “I coulda been a contender” Perry coming off the ropes after three dismal bouts and knocking a bit of that Gene Tunney sheen off the Mitt?

Some of the political Cosells were speculating before the fight that the timorous Texan’s handlers were planning a clinch and cover-up defensive strategy, hoping he would still be on his feet at the end of the fight, maybe with a mouse under one eye or a flattened schnoz, but nothing more serious. With expensive media moments coming up, he has to look good.

As it turned out, he came out punching — and kept on punching through the whole two hours. Beginning with his introductory swipe at Mitt Romney (“a conservative of convenience”) and continuing through a spirited defense of his experience dealing with border issues, he was more energized and focused than in his previous debates. He was so spirited, in fact, that he came close a couple of times of sounding like a bully. (The audience booed when he went after Romney.)

WINNERS:

MITT ROMNEY
Barely. By a decision. His opponents tonight ganged up on him, and they staggered him a few times, particularly on RomneyCare, but he managed to stay on his feet and counter-punch on most of the issues.

RICK SANTORUM
The pesky former senator is decisive, persistent and well informed. He probably established himself tonight as the successor to Herman Cain as the so-called “flavor-of-the-week” alternative to Romney. His response to Anderson Cooper’s question about the role of faith in politics was thoughtful and eloquent. (Gingrich also had a good debate, as usual, but he probably carries too much baggage to make much headway.)

LOSER:HERMAN CAIN
He would probably sound decisive and authoritative ordering a pizza over the phone, but when his cohorts, led by Santorum, ganged up on his signature tax plan, 9-9-9, he buckled. He didn’t have a persuasive response. He also revealed that his knowledge of foreign policy is at best tomato-sauce deep.

GOOD LINES
1. “An authentic conservative, not a conservative of convenience” (Perry describing himself — and taking a swipe at Romney)

2. “You just watched it.” (Newt Gingrich alluding to the negative reaction among the debaters to 9-9-9 as a portent to the nation’s reaction)

3. “I’m a hawk, but I’m a cheap hawk.” (Gingrich)

4. “Maximizing bickering is probably not the road to the White House.” (Gingrich)

5. “I’ll bump plans with you brother.” (Perry telling Cain he’ll be releasing his own tax plan this week)

MOST BIZARRE PIVOTSRICK PERRY

1. Moderator Anderson Cooper asks him about the high number of uninsured children in Texas and he turns it into a charge that Romney hired illegal aliens to do his yard work, ignoring the question.

2. Cooper asks him about a nuclear-waste storage site at Yucca Mountain and the governor pivots to the 10th Amendment.

3. In response to a question about foreign aid — which, in reality, is a miniscule portion of the federal budget — he brought back an old saw from the 1950s: “I think it’s time to have a very real discussion about de-funding the United Nations. . . . Why are we funding that organization?”

GOOD QUESTIONA MEMBER OF THE AUDIENCE“We have 50 million Latinos in this country, and not all of us are illegal. What is your message to us?”

BLAST FROM THE PASTRICK PERRY“I think it’s time to have a very real discussion about de-funding the United Nations. . . . Why are we funding that organization?”